Target: Scorch Release!

Before the waterfall.

Asuma sat cross-legged, his eyes lowered as he refined Chakra.

At noon, Kurenai brought him a lunchbox but did not disturb him.

Another hour passed in the blink of an eye when Asuma suddenly opened his eyes.

Kurenai immediately came over and asked expectantly, "Asuma, did it work?"

"It worked!"

Asuma beamed, then removed the ninja forehead protector from his head.

Kurenai looked over and saw what seemed to be a pale blue diamond-shaped gem embedded in the center of Asuma's forehead.

It was the mark of the Yin Seal.

Yet seeing such a mark appear on Asuma, Kurenai suddenly could not help laughing.

"Well?"

"Don't I look even more charming now?"

Asuma touched his forehead and asked with a grin.

"Mhm!"

Kurenai nodded with a smile, then asked curiously, "After nearly a year, how much Chakra have you stored?"

Asuma estimated it and said, "Around a hundred times my current peak reserves!"

"A hundred times!"

Kurenai could not help crying out.

The amount truly shocked her.

She knew that Asuma's current Chakra Amount was already roughly ten times hers.

By that calculation...

The stored Chakra was... a thousand times what she currently possessed!

What she did not know was that Asuma still found it somewhat regrettable.

The Yin Seal's capacity for sealing and storing Chakra was not limitless.

Given his current situation, one hundred and fifty times his own Chakra was about the limit.

"This is meant to be used alongside Tsunade's S-rank Medical Ninjutsu. Without enough Chakra, rapid regeneration of limbs and organs is impossible."

Asuma explained.

Tsunade's ninjutsu—Creation Rebirth—had been finalized half a year ago.

The reason it was called finalized was much as he had expected before.

The Senju Clan and the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, had left behind relevant records.

Tsunade merely organized those materials, and the technique came together naturally.

However.

It was now Asuma's turn to have a headache.

In terms of Medical Ninjutsu, having reached the stage of Creation Rebirth, Asuma himself did not know how to proceed toward resurrecting the dead. He could only talk Tsunade into researching cloning, temporarily escaping her iron fists.

Too much talking would only bring tears.

After putting his forehead protector back on, Asuma asked Kurenai, "How is your Genjutsu development going?"

Kurenai shook her head and sighed. "Developing a ninjutsu from scratch is simply too difficult."

"But does the kind of Genjutsu you described, Asuma—the kind that turns illusion into reality—really exist?"

Asuma thought for a moment. "In theory, it does."

"When we cast Genjutsu, we disrupt Chakra and deceive the five senses, making the false seem real."

"That is an illusory deception."

"If flowers and plants are grown in a greenhouse, creating a genuine environment that lets them bloom year-round, isn't that also a kind of Genjutsu?"

"Perhaps it should be called a real deception?"

Kurenai frowned as she pondered his words.

After some thought, Asuma added, "Transforming the false into the real is certainly difficult, but we can take it one step at a time."

"For example, Kurenai, you could try making a plant bloom in a season when it should not bloom."

"Bloom in a season when it should not?"

Kurenai said thoughtfully, "Asuma, you mean using Genjutsu to make a plant believe that it has reached blooming season, so that it blossoms?"

Asuma snapped his fingers. "Exactly, that's what I mean!"

"I think if you can reach that stage, Genjutsu that deceives the five senses will be effortless. You could truly be called a Genjutsu master!"

Still, Kurenai felt that what Asuma said sounded like pure fantasy.

Plants were not people. They had no consciousness.

Yet Asuma seemed to have read her thoughts and smiled. "But plants have cells too."

"They are living beings as well, and they have their own sensory systems."

"Perhaps the essence of Genjutsu is turning the impossible into the possible, turning the false into the real!"

"Kurenai, how about we have a contest and see who can do it first?"

Kurenai immediately smiled and retorted, "Asuma, you may understand Genjutsu too, but you are far inferior to me. Are you sure?"

Asuma smiled slyly. "Then shall we make a wager?"

"What wager?"

Kurenai asked.

Asuma immediately leaned close to Kurenai's ear and whispered something.

Kurenai's cheeks instantly flushed crimson. She shot Asuma an annoyed glare. "Then let's compete, but you are definitely going to lose!"

"Hurry up and eat your lunch. I'm going to train!"

With that, Kurenai flashed away.

Asuma chuckled, then opened Kurenai's Heart-shaped Lunchbox and began eating in huge mouthfuls.

After eating the lunchbox and washing it clean, Asuma sat before the waterfall, opened the system, and examined his attributes and skills.

He had completed his training in the Hundred Healings Technique. Next, he could rely on the enormous Chakra stored in the Yin Seal to unleash Adamantine Sealing Chains to his heart's content.

After Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, he now had another ultimate move at his disposal.

Although this ultimate move might not last very long, and after erupting once, he would likely need more than half a year before he could erupt again.

It was still enough to deal with the vast majority of dangers.

Over the past year, his Character Level had only risen by two levels, reaching level 35.

He had also obtained the Hundred Man Slayer achievement.

Asuma had assigned all the Attribute Points he received to Constitution.

This had allowed his Constitution to break past the threshold of 70, reaching 70.2!

This was one of the reasons he had been able to complete the Hundred Healings Technique in less than a year.

"The more trump cards I have, the better. As for conventional ninjutsu, the Five Great Ninja Methods are actually enough for me now. If I were not grinding experience, I might not need to master more ninjutsu."

"And at this rate, even with my cheat, I still need to follow the path of Kekkei Genkai, Kekkei Tōta, and Kekkei Mōra, until I synthesize their Chakra Nature Transformations, master Yin-Yang Release, and create Truth-Seeking Orbs!"

"Perhaps I should try synthesizing a Kekkei Genkai myself."

This was not the first time Asuma had considered it.

However, his attention had previously been occupied by the Hundred Healings Technique, Adamantine Sealing Chains, and Medical Ninjutsu.

Otherwise, with level 10 Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation and level 10 Fire Style Chakra Nature Transformation, he would have long since tried to synthesize a Kekkei Genkai.

"Then I'll start with Scorch Release!"

Asuma made up his mind.

Wind Style plus Fire Style could synthesize the Scorch Release Bloodline Limit.

Sunagakure currently had a Fire Style powerhouse, the Elite Jonin Pakura.

"If I synthesize Scorch Release, then my Chakra Cloak will be completely finished. I may even be able to form a Scorch Release Chakra Mode."

"But what kind of Scorch Release do I want?"

Asuma pondered inwardly. Or rather, what goal should I pursue?

I can't just rely on luck, can I?

Or should I go talk to Pakura?

His thoughts ran wild. Only after a long while did he rein them in, crush those messy ideas, and search for inspiration in Fire Style and Wind Style.

"If two Chakra Nature Transformations are fused together, then their respective strengths must be combined, complementing each other's weaknesses."

Asuma's mind raced. "First, wind fuels fire. When Wind Style and Fire Style ninjutsu are combined, they not only expand the range of Fire Style but also increase its temperature."

"With my current level 10 Fire Style Chakra Nature Transformation, the flames I produce with Fire Style will not exceed three thousand degrees and are orange-red in color."

"If Wind Style and Fire Style combine, the flames' temperature must rise to another level."

"Then the first objective is temperature!"

At that moment, inspiration suddenly struck Asuma. "High temperatures... plasma!"

"High-temperature flames can become plasma!"

Asuma's thoughts suddenly opened up.

A plasma cannon!

"What I need is Scorch Release in a high-temperature plasma state, with powerful plasticity—or rather, shape transformation."

Having set his goal, Asuma immediately clapped his hands together and began trying to fuse the two Chakra Nature Transformations into a Kekkei Genkai.